Percolator



Jan. 14, 1930.

J. P. HALSTEAD ET AL PERCOLATOR Filed Nov. 28. 1928 Patented Jan. 14, 1930 UNITE-D "Sr-A rs :NT :(DFJFIC'E JOHN'P. HALS'IEAD AND HERMANN M. ALFRED STRAUSS, OF ROCHESTER, NEW Yon-K,

ASSIGNORS o ROBESQN-ROCHESTER CORPORATION, E aoCnEsTEn, NEW YCEK A' CORPORATION or NEWYORK PERGOLATOR Application filed November 28, 1928. Serial No. 322,385.

This invention relates to. a percolator and that the heating unit 14 would rest upon the has for its principal object the provision of top of a stove. A nut 15 cooperating with a a more simple, convenient, and generally threaded portion of the heating unit maybe improved valve structure which will enable used to clamp the body 10 to the base'll.

the percolator to operate more satisfactorily Extending upwardly from the heating "5 5 7 and with greater efliciency than the previous Chamber is a percolator fountain tube 20 constructions used. which may carry at its upper end the usual Another object is the provision in a percocofiee basket in which ground coffee is placed later of a, heating mechanism including a and 0V6! which the hot water IlSlIlgthIOUglI alv d vic whi h i i l a d lf the fountain tube is sprayed. Near its lower 0 {gained in tructure, inexpensive to manufec- GIiCl the fountain tube is PI'OViClGCl With a ture and assemble, and which is adapted to P f1 S ulCleI 21 WhiCh contacts with one operate in an efficient and reliable manner S1Cle Of a uph ped member 22 placed in without clogging by coffee grounds or other lnverted posltlon on the tube. On the other Solid matter. slde of this cup-shaped member is a collar 65 To these and other ends the invention re- 23 retained 011 the 6nd of the tube by haVing sides in certain improvements and combinathe u e flared p wa dly s at 24. tions of parts, all as will be hereinafter more Thls R- m member 2 has fully described the novel features being substantially cyhndrlca lside walls Of 2O pginted out in the clai ns at the end of the less diameter thed ameter'of 7O ifi ti chamber, so that these side walls willfitwith- I th d i n the side walls 12 of the chamber as shown Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken centrally 1n F 3' and The lower edge 25 of the through the lgwer part of a pereolatoconmember 13 arranged to IQSlT'LlPOIl the curved 5 structed in accordance 3, preferred en 01 arcuate POItlOIlS 26 formed at the jllIlClllOIl 75 V bodiment of the present invenfign; the side walls 12 and bOlZlZOIIl 1 3 heat- Fig; 2 is an enlarged vertical section taken g Chalhhers a g Contact is Secured Centrally through the valve structure, showhetWeeIl the QIH Of he member 22'and the ing the valve in openposition; 1 V sides of the heatlng chamber, so that leakage 7 Fig.3 is a similar view showing the valve 1 ypasslng of liquid or steam is negligible. s0

closed position, and o The lnverted' cup-shaped member 22 has fFgz, 4" is a section through the percolator 0119 01 more ports 30 in'its top, three of these f t i t b i th li H f Fi 2, showbeing illustrated in Fig. 4, arranged symmetingart of th valv t u t r i l rically about the fountain tube. Each port 5 Similar reference numerals throughout the 1 formed W1th a boss 31 around it which eX- 85 several views indicate the same parts. tends a slight distance lnwardlyfrom the top There isillustrated in Fig. lthe lower of he cup-shapedmember, as shown clearly part of the liquid chamber '10 of'a percolator 1n F1gs;2and 3. 7 p which rests upon a suitable base 11. The A valve member 35, also ofan inverted cup percolator is provided witha heating chamshape, is'mounted for movement within the 90 her in which liquid may be heated by any member 22 to open and close the ports'30, suitable. means, this heating chamber having Preferably this Valv member 5 is arr ng side walls 12 preferably of cylindrical form loosely on a reduced portion36 of the collar and :abottom 13. In thexpresent instance 23, so that it is free to move axially up and the side wallsand bottom are formed ZLS'PELIt down this reduced portion, and is retained 95 of a heating unit 14which may have electrical thereon by the larger portion of the collar. heating coils imbedded therein. It is obvious when the valve is in its lower or open posithat if it were desired to, heat the percolator tion, shown in Fig. 2, the top thereof-contacts by a stove instead of by electrical means, the with the shoulder 37 at the bottomof the rebase 11- could simply be made of less-height so duced' portion 36, and this acts to seal the 1 small opening which must be left between the valve member and the reduced portion 36 to allow sufficient play or clearance so that the valve member may move readily.

In operation, liquid within the chamber 10 of the percolator flows down through the port 30 into the heating chamber, where it is heated to the boiling point. Steam forming therein gradually accumulates under the cupshaped valve member 35 from which it can not readily escape, until sufficient steam pressure is formed to lift the valve from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that illustrated in Fig. 3. In this latter position, the top of the valve member 35 comes into, contact with the bosses 31 surrounding the ports 30, and effectively closes these ports. When the supply of colder water is thus cut off, the liquid'within the heating chamber heats still more rapidly and an upward rush of boiling liquid and steamthrough the fountain tube 20 results. When a considerable part of the fluid within the heating chamber has been forced up the fountain tube, the pressure within the chamber falls below that within the main body of the container 10, so that the valve falls to the position shown in Fig. 2 and thus opens the ports 30. A fresh supply of liquid then enters the heating chamber. This liquid is heated in turn until the steam closes the valve, and then is forced up the fountain tube as before.

The shoulder 37 which seals the play or clearance opening of the valve member is of considerable importance, in the efficient functioning of the device, as it prevents the escape of the steam and thus enables the necessary amount of'steam to be accumulated within the valve member more rapidly than would be the case if a part of it were allowed to escape between the valve and the collar.

It will be noted from Figs2 and 4 that the valve member 85 does not fit closely within the inverted cup-shaped member 22, but that there is a considerable annular space between these two members. This space is intentionally made of suflicient size so that coffee grounds and similar solid matter which might be present in the percolator will not stick or become lodged therein, but is able to pass freely therethrough. The valve memher is of sufficient size, however, so that it overlies the major portion of the area of the bottom of the heating chamber, and thus the major portion of the steam formed in the heating chamber may pass directly upwardly into the valve member. The ports 30 are made comparatively large so that coffee grounds will not stick in them.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed,it is to be understood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a num ber. of ways. This application is therefore not to be limited to the precise details shown, but is intended to cover all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a percolator, the combination with a heating chamber, of a fountain tube extending upwardly therefrom, a cup shaped member mounted on said fountain tube in inverted position and positioned partially within said heating chamber, said cup shaped member having a port therein, and an inverted cup shaped valve member mounted for movement within said cup shaped member to open and close said port, there being a free space of substantial size between the sides of said valve member and those of said cup shaped member to provide free passageway for coffee grounds without clogging.

2. In a percolator, the combination with a heating chamber, of a fountain tube extending upwardly therefrom, an inverted cup shaped member mounted on said fountain tube and positioned partially within said heating chamber, said cup shaped member havinga port therein, a retaining member mounted on said tube for holding said cup shaped member in place thereon, said fountain tube being expanded to hold said retaining member in place, and a valve memberof inverted cup shape movably mounted onsaid retaining member to open and "close said port.

3. In a percolator, the combination with a heating chamber, of an inverted cup shaped member positioned partially within said heating chamber, a fountain tube extending upwardlyfrom said cup shaped member substantially at the center thereof, said cup shaped member having a plurality of ports around said fountain tube and an inwardly extendlng boss surrounding each port, a collar on said fountain tube for retaining'said tube and said cup shaped member in cooperative relationship, said tube being expanded to hold said collar in place, and an inverted cup shaped valve member movably mounted on said collar to shift into and out of contact with said bosses to open and close said ports.

4. In a percolator, the combination with a heating chamber, of an inverted cup shaped member positioned partially within said chamber,said member having a port therein, a fountain tube extending through said member, a collar on the lowerlend of said fountain tube for retainingsaid tube in cooperative relationship with said'member, said tube being expanded to hold said collar in place, said collar having a portion of reduced diameter and another portion of larger diameter, and an inverted cup shaped valve member mounted for. movement within vsaid cup shaped member to open andclose the'port thereof, said valve member being mounted upon the reduced: portion of said collar.

5. In a percolator,the combination with a heating chamber having substantially cylindrical side walls and arcuate portions near the bottoms of said side walls, of a fountain tube extending upwardly from said heating chamber, an inverted cup shaped member mounted on said fountain tube, said member having substantially cylindrical walls of slightly less diameter than the diameter of said heating chamber, said walls extending down into said heating chamber so that the bottom edges thereof rest upon said arcuate portions, said member having a port therein, and a valve member mounted for movement within said inverted cup shaped member to open and close said port.

6. In a percolator, the combination with a member having a well-like heating chamber, of a fountain tube extending upwardly from said heating chamber, an inverted cup shaped member mounted on said fountain tube and arranged to fit within said heating chamber and to cover substantially the entire area of the bottom thereof, said member having a port, and an inverted cup shaped valve member mounted for movement within said cup shaped member to open and close said port.

7 In a percolator, the combination with a heating chamber, of a fountain tube extending upwardly therefrom, an inverted cup shaped member mounted on said fountain tube, said cup shaped member having a port therein, and an inverted cup shaped valve member mounted for movement within said cup shaped member to open and close said port, said valve member being of a size to cover the major portion of the area of the bottom of said heating chamber so that the major portion of steam formed in said heating chamber will pass directly into said cup shaped valve member.

JOHN P. HALSTEAD.

HERMANN M. ALFRED STRAUSS. 

